A long time rival to our players, now ally. Let’s welcome Danil “Dendi” Ishutin as the 5th member to join the Tigers family today! Bringing the team to a full roster. Fans of Tigers, we want to share this experience with you. Meet the new members of @tigers_dota . #roartigers

This news follows Tigers’ announcement that both Lai “Ahjit” Jay Son and Muhammad “inYourdreaM” Rizky would be departing from the team effective Jan. 19. After the pair officially left the team, Tigers began looking for players to fill their roster in order to compete in the Southeast Asia Qualifiers for DreamLeague Season 11, the next Dota Pro Circuit Major.

On top of adding Dendi to their roster, Tigers also added Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung a former captain for teams such as Fnatic, who has competed in six different iterations of The International, including The International 2013 where the Mushi-led Team Orange lost to Na’Vi and Dendi.

It has been clarified since Tigers’ announcement that, while Dendi has officially joined the Tigers roster, he will only be playing as a stand-in during the qualifiers.

Hey guys ! just to make it clear. I am still officially on contract with NaVi. But i joined Tigers and hopefully we find some success in future. (NaVi just cares about me <3)

The last time Dendi suited up for a team was when he joined former teammate Clement “Puppey” Ivanov as a stand-in on Team Secret during the Maincast Autumn Brawl in October 2018. Since then, his unknown status made fans question if he was going to remain with Na’Vi in some capacity or retire—though he shut down the latter claims early on.

Guys I am not retiring from dota. Looking for team/players. Thanks for warm words ❤️

The Tigers last competed in the Megafon Winter Clash in December, where they placed second. That was their best event during the current season, leaving much to be desired out of their other placements.

Despite the strange circumstances, Dendi will be joining the Tigers for the DreamLeague Season 11 Qualifiers, which begin Jan. 24.